The University of Idaho Argonaut

Two Moscow businesses, West of Paris and Sisters’ Brew Coffee House, have both thrived since their opening.
Tucked away on Main Street, Sisters’ Brew Coffee House has had more success than its owner anticipated when it first opened in March last year.

Owner Gina Rich said she and her family decided to open Sisters’ Brew in Moscow because the town offered them something they were looking for.
Since it was a family decision, they wanted to make sure they moved somewhere appealing to all of them.

Rich, her husband and her two daughters took a test online at www.findyourspot.com, which asked a lot of questions about their ideal place to move.
After comparing their answers and finding out Moscow would be their new home, they drove here from Dallas to be certain.

“Once we decided that Moscow was a town for all of us, we drove here over the weekend and checked it out. We found our store front and just fell in love with the town,” she said.
Rich said she likes the area they picked.
“We love having our business here because it’s a beautiful area in a small town that is very viable. It’s small enough that you can really get to know people,” she said.

Rich said that she’s heard people say they like the atmosphere of Sisters’ Brew and the consistency of the drinks they serve.
She said that they’ve even had regulars clean up for them or assist someone who was new to the store.
“That would never happen in the big city we came from,” Rich said.
Rich said that in the future they will be opening up their Web site to allow access to their meeting room, and even for parents to purchase tabs for students.

While the Rich family intends to stay in Moscow, they’ve discussed the possibility of expanding to drive-thrus and maybe a small store in a nearby town.
“It would just depend on what opportunities we stumbled across,” Rich said.
Also located downtown on Main Street is West of Paris, a restaurant dedicated to delivering the French dining experience.

Owned by Chef Francis Foucachon and his wife Donna Foucachon, West of Paris has been offering an intimate and unique dining experience since they first opened in August 2006.
“It’s a place where people can come and celebrate a special date or get a quick bite to eat. You can do the whole French dining thing, which is a complete meal served in courses, or order something a la carte,” Donna Foucachon said.

She said that this is a place where people like to come and eat and talk.
“We’re about relationships, not just food,” she said. “Communication is something that happens over French meals, and we’ll find people who have been here for three or four hours just talking and they love it.”
The Foucachon’s came to Moscow from Lyon, France, where Francis Foucachon trained and worked as a chef in the capital of French gastronomy world.
After spendiWng several years working as a chef in Lyon, Francis Foucachon decided to become a pastor and founded the American School of Lyon.

“When a family from Moscow moved to Lyon to give their children the French experience, they put their kids through the American School of Lyon and they told us about Moscow,” Donna Foucachon said.
She said that they knew they wanted to move back to the UWnited States to put their five children through college, and after hearing about Moscow they decided it was the place to do it.

“We were going to stay for a year, but decided it would be good to give the kids some roots and continuity,” she said.
Francis Foucachon said the area is a nice place for their restaurant because there are two good-sized universities nearby, and it adds to the culture.
He said people come to eat at West of Paris from Spokane and Lewiston, and every night he makes a point to visit the tables while people eat.

“The word that comes almost every night is that the food is incredible and extraordinary, and that this is the best restaurant in a 100 mile range,” he said. “I like to visit with the customers and see how they are doing and how they like the food.”
Francis Foucachon said that they have no plans to expand West of Paris outside of Moscow because he likes to keep it hands on.
“This is a high-end restaurant and we want to keep our identity. We want to bring quality food to the people the four days a week we are open, and for people to appreciate food as a piece of art,” he said.